Auditorium district files plat for events center

The 22 acres where the event center will be located is shaded in grey.

We've been getting questions now and then about the status of the Idaho Falls Events Center. The project moved one step closer to breaking ground this week when it submitted a plat to the city of Idaho Falls.

Once the plat is approved, the people behind the project can file site and building plans and begin work on the project, which Idaho Falls voters gave the go ahead to in May 2011. Last winter, when the Idaho Falls Auditorium District named Centennial Management Group to operate the center, CMG President Kevin Bruder said they expected to break ground in May. Obviously that hasn't happened, but when it does the construction is expected to take 18 months.

Plans for the center include a hockey area, shopping area, restaurants, conference center and concert venue. It will be located on 22 acres at Snake River Landing, south of Pancheri Drive, with a road that runs between Pioneer Road and Snake River Parkway serving as the main access.

Partial funding of the project comes from a 5 percent hotel and motel bed tax that voters approved in May 2011.

For more information, visit this link: Idaho Falls Event Center.

Swagger boutique plans move, expanded hours

Swagger, a women's boutique that opened last year in Idaho Falls at 537 West 20th Street, will be moving and opening June 6 at 2177 E. 17th Street.

Owner Shantell Goodenogh said the new store, next to Planet Beach, will give them more space and a more visible location. Instead of only Thursday, they will be open three days, Thursday and Friday from noon to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Tucked away where they were they didn't have much visibility, and they got in trouble with the city of Idaho Falls when they put a freestanding sign on Rollandet. Nevertheless, they have built a loyal clientele that they expect to follow them to the new store.

Swagger offers affordable-but-chic dresses, tops, jewelry and accessories by smaller companies including L.A. Idol, Antique Rivet, Request and Judy Blue. Limited availability is part of the appeal, Goodenogh said.

"When you buy something from us, you're not going to see other women wearing it," she said. "I might order six items, and when they're gone they're gone."

Their Facebook page, an important part of their marketing, can be found at Swagger. For more information, call (208) 390-8527.

Dad's plans to have new station open by August

The ground at Hitt and Yellowstone where the new Dad's Travel Center is to be built.

Dad's Travel Center will be moving across Hitt Road in August to a 47-acre site they have been planning for years to develop.

The 3,000-square-foot store will be a miniature version of what they have south of Idaho Falls at Exit 113, said Kevin Bird, the company's general manager. They were originally planning to develop the site in 2007, but when the economy went into recession they decided to hold off. But as they neared the expiration of the 10-year lease on the store at Hitt and Yellowstone, they decided this year was as good as any.

"We're very optimistic about the future and the expansion of Hitt Road to four lanes out to the freeway," Bird said. The contractor on the project is Bateman-Hall. "We're building fast," he said. "We hope to have this open by August.

The 11,000-square-foot Dad's south of Idaho Falls is home to Frontier Pies. Bird said they plan to have a food vendor in the new store, but said they haven't chosen yet.

Dad's is owned by Doug Andrus, who has been busy on both ends of town. The company has bought 100 acres near Exit 113 and is planning to build a 90,000-square-foot facility for Watkins Distributing, the regional Anheuser-Busch wholesaler.

Statistical changes in the works for Idaho Falls, eastern Idaho

Changes to the Idaho Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area and Combined Statistical Area will take effect in January 2014. These changes were made based on demographic shifts revealed in 2010 Census data.

 

The Idaho Falls MSA will include Butte County in addition to Bonneville and Jefferson counties.

The Idaho Falls CSA, renamed the Idaho Falls-Blackfoot CSA, is to include Butte, Madison, and Fremont Counties in addition to Bonneville, Bingham, and Jefferson.

 

The changes are expected to more accurately reflect the local economic picture and the accuracy of labor market information.

Idaho ranks 26th in Bloomberg STEM survey

Doing a routine sweep for stories about Idaho (in the newspaper business this would be called "sorting the wire"), we ran across this May 14 story from Bloomberg ranking the states with the highest concentrations of professionals in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Idaho tied for 26th in Bloomberg's STEM Index. The state has lost 0.41 percent of its science, technology, engineering and mathematics jobs since 2001.

The ranking was based on STEM professionals as a percentage of:

• Those nationwide (2012): 0.49%
• The state's population (2011): 2.16%
• The state's employed (2011): 4.75%

Separately, the average pay for STEM professionals in Idaho was $64,583 in 2011. Medical scientists, not including epidemiologists, were the highest-paid with an average salary of $154,990.

Here's the link to the story: Left Brainiest States of the Union: Red, White and Nerdy

Arts Council launches $241k drive to finish youth "ARTitorium"

Architect Keith Kennedy's rendering of the floor plan of the "ARTitorium on Broadway," once the Rio Theater. To learn more about the plans, follow this link: ARTitorium. 

The Idaho Falls Arts Council started a fund-raising drive this morning to raise $241,000, the amount it says it needs to reach its goal for remodeling the old Rio Theater into the "ARTitorium on Broadway."

A group of anonymous challenge grant donors have promised a matching amount but set a Sept. 30 deadline on the effort. If the money is raised, the combined $482,000 will allow the Arts Council to spend $1.53 million on the facility and have it open by late summer 2014.

The drive has been named the “Phantom 2.0 Challenge,” in reference to a similar challenge grant campaign in the 1990s to finish the Miles and Virginia Willard Arts Center

The plan is for a technology-driven arts center for youth, a tourist attraction, and a great step forward in downtown revitalization. The plans for the main floor include interactive art stations, including a lighted motion wall, virtual art gallery, gigantic magnetic wall, computerized animation kiosk and life-size green screen. Most of the interactive art stations are being developed by Protozone Interactives, whose clients include The National Museum of Art, The San Francisco Exploratorium and The National Museum of Science and Industry.

The second floor, once the Rio's balcony, is to be renovated into a 170-seat performing arts theater and recording studio.

The $241,000 gift is being donated by a small group of arts supporters who will reveal their identities once the matching funds are raised. While the deadline is Sept. 30, pledges can be paid over a multi-annual period.

“Despite having gone through the worst recession since the Depression, the Arts Council had already successfully raised over $1 million towards this project," said Carrie Getty Scheid, who is co-chairing the challenge grant fund-raising with Mary Lynn Hartwell. Anyone interested in making a pledge or donation should contact Scheid at cscheid@Q.com or (208) 206-9506. Donations also can be mailed to the Idaho Falls Arts Council, 498 A Street, Idaho Falls, ID  83402.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I, Paul Menser, was the Phantom of the Colonial in the 1990s and was asked to reprise the role for this funding effort. Here are the parody lyrics that finally came to me around 3:45 this morning, which I sang from the balcony a few hours later to a warm if not exactly thunderous reception:

Me, as the Phantom. Pretty slick, huh?

(To the tune of "Music of the Night")

Everybody likes their children smart
That's why every kid needs lots of art
Painting, dance and song make the day a lot less long
Is it too much to be offering them some?
So dig deep for the ARTitorium.

This old place has been sitting vacant long enough
Don't you think we could show a little pride
If we did something nice with it inside?
('Course I'd have to find another place to hide.)

We're all crazy if we do not do this.
Don't make me think you're completely clueless.
Show me you've got taste; don't let this chance go to waste
I don't want to have to wait till kingdom come
So dig deep for the ARTitorium.

I asked the TV reporters who were there to send me video of this performance. If that happens, and I like what I see, I will post it. This is the age of YouTube and social media, after all.

Millgate takes first place for Environment Reporting

Kris Millgate

Congratulations to Kris Millgate for taking first place in the Environment Reporting -- Daily Print category at the Idaho Press Club banquet, which was held Saturday night in Boise. Millgate took the honor for a story she wrote for the Post Register, "Return of the River."

Millgate started her multi-media company, Tight Line Media, in 2006 after leaving traditional TV journalism. In addition to the weekly "Time Out" segments that air on KPVI-TV, she is a documentary film-maker. Her film "Sanctuary," about recovering elk habitat in New Mexico, won best outdoor story from the Outdoor Writers Association of America and is on tour this year with the Wild & Scenic Film Festival.

For a full rundown of all the awards she has won, visit this link: Tight Line Media Awards.